Red hot favourite and reigning champion Redzel has come up with a mid-field barrier six draw for his title defence in Saturday’s Doomben 10,000 2018 field in Brisbane.

Favourite Redzel defends his title in the Doomben 10,000 2018 field in Brisbane from barrier six this weekend. Photo: Steve Hart.

Last winter the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained son of Snitzel posted the first of his elite level wins in the Group 1 $700,000 Doomben 10,000 (1200m) and he returns on Saturday looking to go back-to-back in the weight-for-age feature for the first time since Apache Cat (2008-09).

Redzel has subsequently won The Everest in Sydney and Darley Classic in Melbourne against the country’s best sprinters and is tipped to return to winning form on Saturday.

The five-year-old’s latest start produced a second when upset by class three-year-old Trapeze Artist in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m), but without the youngster there on Saturday Redzel is the one to beat in Doomben 10,000 betting.

The latest odds at Ladbrokes.com.au have Redzel at $2.35 with Kerrin McEvoy continuing his association with the $8.69 million earner who is out to be the first Doomben 10,000 winner from barrier six since Axeman (1983).

The dominance of Redzel has just one other single-figure hope in the Doomben 10,000 odds for this weekend, Benjamin Smith’s gun mare In Her Time the danger at $3.60 in barrier eight.

Dual Doomben 10,000 winning hoop Corey Brown rode Apache Cat (2008) for his first and the mare Beaded (2011), and he is after a third on the ultra-consistent Time Thief five-year-old In Her Time this weekend.

Along with Trapeze Artist and Redzel, the mare is the other confirmed The Everest runner for October’s $13 million feature and has been in outstanding form over the past season.

She broke her Group 1 maiden on March 24 first-up at Rosehill in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) before her third in the TJ Smith Stakes.

In Her Time blitzed a subsequent trial at home at Newcastle with an over four and a half-length win over 1000m to bring her on for the Doomben 10,000 where she will be out to improve on her fifth to Redzel last year.

Following the unplaced but close three length effort in that 12 months ago, In Her Time went on to run a quarter-length second in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1350m) and third when only a length off the winner in the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1350m) – both also contested at Doomben Racecourse.

Outside the top two in Doomben 10,000 betting the best fancied to score the upset include reigning Stradbroke Handicap winner Impending ($10) and the widely-drawn Le Romain ($13) out in barrier 13 of 14.

Godolphin’s James Cummings trains smart Lonhro four-year-old Impending who ran third to Redzel in last November’s Darley Classic.

His only run since was a first-up Doomben win giving him a two-from-two record at the track when successful in the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) late last month.

Le Romain meanwhile has his first Doomben run on Saturday, the $2.49 million earner last seen crossing a neck second to Trapeze Artist in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) in Sydney on April 21.

See below for the full 2018 Doomben 10,000 field and betting, odds available now through Ladbrokes.com.au.

2018 Doomben 10,000 Final Field & Betting